Witnessed vicariously; a man was seen being beaten up on these mean Sydney streets.
The man being beaten was either Mexican, Latin American or of Spanish speaking descent as evidenced by his cries for help. In an attempt to stem the savage beating that he was receiving our victim called out the Spanish equivalent of "enough," the word "basta."
Unfortunately, as befitting those ignorant enough to resolve a dispute by resorting to violence, this word was misunderstood - the concept of a foreign language being foreign to the perpetrators of such brutality.
While the man in agony was calling out "basta," the men doing the beating presumably heard the word "bastard." Upon hearing what they perceived to be a slight they doubled their efforts to beat the fear of the white man into their victim.
Relief came when some local locals stepped in giving the victim enough time to beat a hasty retreat.
Written on Saturday, 5 July 2003